Image credit: Robert Frye

A while back, I wrote about adding value to your presentations.  Presentations should be treated like products and your audiences are the consumers.  One way to increase the value of a product is to customize it for the consumer.  If you have the opportunity to learn about your audience before you present, here are three ways to consider customizing your presentations:

• Market Segmentation:  Your favorite products are marketed and offered based on demographic variables such as age, gender, and nationality.  Your presentations should be no different.  As you prepare your visual aids and teaching materials, consider the demographic makeup of your audience.  Don’t go overboard or stereotype, however. Simply try to create an atmosphere in which the audience can easily imagine themselves accomplishing the tasks that your presentation demands.
• Personalization:  For my regular business English classes, I have the opportunity to build relationships with my students.  Over time, I learn about their hobbies, interests, and personalities.  I always keep this in mind as I prepare visual aids for each class, and customize the visuals accordingly.  If I know my students love cars, they’re going to see their favorite cars in the next set of drill cards.  Speaking to your audience through their passions is a surefire way to keep engagement levels high.
• Corporate Customization:  For your corporate clients, learn as much as you can about their business and integrate that into your lessons or presentations.  This can be something as deep as customized exercises based on their business needs to something as simple as a  name card with the company logo printed on it.  Showing that you are interested in the company and care about its success can go a long way in keeping your audience involved and motivated.

There are countless  additional ways to customize content for your audience.  Hopefully the three ideas above will be enough to get you stared.  Of course, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.